THE LOWDOWN IN BRIEF
• THE Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is the new name for what was previously called the National Business Travel Association (NBTA), and better reflects its move into Europe. The re-named organisation promises a series of new member benefits, an expanded events programme, more industry research and resources, and enhanced online collaboration and information sharing. Its second annual European conference will take place on September 19th-21st at the Grand Hotel Huis Ter Duin in Noordwijk, near Amsterdam.
• THE winners of the European Travel Buyer Awards were announced at a ceremony on the eve of the Business Travel and Meetings Show, with the titles being shared among buyers from the UK, Finland, Sweden and Denmark. The Department for Work & Pensions' head of business services, Matthew Griffin, picked up the award for Best Travel Policy Compliance Programme; PwC's Julia Goodridge was named Outstanding National Travel Coordinator of the Year; and Eversheds' Elaine Winterbottom was recognised for the Best CSR Initiative in a Travel Programme, and the overall Eversheds team picked up the award for European Travel Department of the Year.
• eighty-seven per cent of European organisations have recently reviewed their travel policy, with 70 per cent of those implementing new restrictions on business class air travel. The figures are among a series of changes revealed in a major travel policy benchmarking study from Egencia and the GBTA, which surveyed 383 companies across 20 European countries. The results broadly mirror those of a recent online poll conducted by The Business Travel Magazine, which saw 94 per cent of UK TMCs say their clients had made changes to travel policy during the recession. Egencia’s study also found that 70 per cent of companies stipulate that all travel is booked through a single designated TMC.
• according to a survey of 200 companies, 88 per cent of corporates do not use or are unaware of the need for a pre-travel risk assessment. “Employers have a duty of care to all employees who travel on business and it is important to carry out pre- travel risk assessments. Many fail to do so and thereby expose both their employees and themselves to unnecessary risk,“ says Paul Dobinson of Chartis.
➔ BSI' s new outlook
GUEST COLUMN
BRIAN GARVAN DIRECTOR OF SALES UK, CHOICE HOTELS EUROPE
I WAS asked recently what made a good negotiator. Some would answer it's the person who is able to haggle and gets the best price, but I’m reminded of the Oscar Wilde quote of a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. I think this effectively sums up
BTMS NEWS
IT MIGHT have passed some readers by, but others will
have no doubt noted that BSI's former co-owner Charles Cockell is now a rich man, having sold his hotel booking agency to Capita Business Travel for a large sum of money in December. But what does it mean for the HBA? BSI’s name and Somerset offices remain in place and become part of a “family of specialists” at Capita Business Travel, explains James Parkhurst, business director at the Derby-based company. BSI managing director Trevor Elswood becomes MD of the larger group but is keen to point out that there are still “two PNLs in the business”. Both companies are keen to highlight the good cultural fit, with Capita as a rail and air specialist and BSI as a hotel specialist. “Customers were saying to us, ’We love your brand but we’d like you to do more for us. Capita’s acquisition rolled forward our own four-year plan to move into rail and air,” explains Elswood.
At the same time, Capita was asking itself how it was going to maintain a leading proposition in the marketplace over the next few years. “What do we do as a mid- size TMC seen as a rail and air specialist? We hadn’t been able to grow the full-service side of the business,” says Parkhurst. Capita had been working with BSI to offer a joined-up solution. “We’ve taken the expertise and sector specialism and customers now get the beauty of two brands,” says Elswood. Adds Parkhurst: “Clients don’t want to compromise with a one-stop-shop as not all the components are good enough.” The combined company will
have annual sales revenues of £300million, of which 70 per cent is UK-sourced rail and hotel spend. “We’re going after the national domestic air market and will push into Europe, but not the global companies,” says Parkhurst. It is also likely that the combined company will seize opportunities in the bespoke technology area.
APPOINTMENT GROUP PUSHES ON
GROWING the global brand was the message driven home by chief executive Maurice Veronique at The Appointment Group's (TAG) recent annual conference. Held at Belfast's Culloden Hotel,
Veronique reviewed the previous 12 months and looked towards the next 12: ”Last year was good for us. We opened our LA office and that was a huge success, while all our divisions have peformed well and were up on previous years.” He continued, ”This year is about growing our global brand. It will
require strategic and structural changes and we need to look more at cross-selling by getting clients within each of our divisions to buy into other areas of the business.” TAG has divisions specialising
in corporate travel, events and musical touring, among others. It has ten staff in its Los Angeles office and aims to double that this year, with growth also planned in New York. No further locations are on the cards though: ”We've got to consolidate our position in the US first,” said Veronique.
the way some corporations are approaching negotiations with their mid-scale or budget hotel suppliers. To my mind this approach is narrow- minded and corporations run the real risk of not getting the best deals. The fault doesn’t lie completely with
the corporate. The hotel sector needs to do a much better job in helping corporates better understand the mid- scale proposition and that the product is about offering value, not just low prices. That value comes from the free wifi connections, inclusive breakfast, 24-hour staffing, onsite dining facilities and, in the case of my own chain, the loyalty points offered to travellers that can go towards free room nights, as well as loyalty member privileges such as late check-out and room upgrades. By all means implement good buying practice such as getting travellers to book in advance and by negotiating a rate with dynamic discount when the trading environment is uncertain. Booking BAR (best available rate) in some markets might remove the need for negotiation and you should always question whether you really need LRA (last room availability) as this can have a bearing on the rate you are able to negotiate. I also urge my own clients to consider the cost of the various booking channels in negotiations and to hold dialogue at chain level so that we can understand their global requirements. If, however, you are hell bent on making price the holy grail then at least be realistic on rates, because reducing rate too much may only result in your custom being less valued by the supplier. And remember that continual renego- tiation of rates adds time and cost to hotel procurement – not just to the supplier, but the corporate as well. If all else fails, just pick up the phone and talk to your suppliers. Better communication leads to better understanding and trust, which in itself delivers value.
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